Russia orders first closure of NGO

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The Russian Government is trying to close one of the oldest human rights groups in the country in what activists say is the first such move since a controversial law on nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) was adopted this month.

The Justice Ministry confirmed that it had asked a Moscow court to order the closure of the Russian Human Rights Research Centre on the grounds that it had not filed reports on its activity for five years. But Lyubov Vinogradova, the centre’s director, said that all reporting requirements had been fulfilled. Valentina Melnikova, a member of the board of the centre, accused